Maheshwara Puja
Maheshwara Puja is one of Hinduism’s most ancient rituals.
Maheshwara Puja is usually offered in the remembrance of a person who is no more. It is offered so that the departed soul rests in peace. The real peace that a soul can experience is the peace of Enlightenment.
In our Nithyananda Sampradaya, Devotees offer Maheshwara Puja so that the departed soul can be liberated in the presence of The Avatar, His Holiness Paramahamsa Nithyananda. In the Maheshwara Puja, His Holiness Paramahamsa Nithyananda, who is the embodiment of Cosmic energy, personally receives the Bhiksha or food offering and he liberates the departed soul . No matter how many births the person would have taken after leaving the body and no matter if the person has met the Master or not in the life, the Master can intervene and make His presence available in the departed soul’s life and lead it to Enlightenment.
A key component of the Maheshwara Puja is the offering of food to the Master along with His monastic disciples. This is when Swamiji blesses the ancestors to attain Enlightenment and offers them “pinda” or food for the journey to their Enlightenment.
Key Elements
- Photos of the dearly departed are displayed
- The chanting of the 15th Chapter of Bhagavad Gita being chanted
Offering Food to The Master and Sannyasis
Offering food to the Master is equal to feeding ten thousand hungry people. The best place on Planet Earth to give “pinda tharpana” (food for the departed souls, completion with living and those who left the body) is the stomach of a Sannyasi.
The Jataragni (digestive fire), the hunger fire of a Sannyasi is the best fire into which you can offer the pinda tharpana. The Shraaddha (ritual offering to departed souls), reaches the pithrus (departed ancestors) directly.
It is a thousand times greater than offering any “shraaddha”, any “pinda”, in any river, any water-body, any lake, any holy land, any holy place. Sannyasis have no other desire or intention but to get Enlightened and get dissolved in the Cosmos. Feeding them and offering Puja to them brings about the same effect in the departed soul and helps them attain Enlightenment and get merged with the Cosmos. In this puja the Sannyasis are treated as Lord Shiva Himself and are offered biksha and fed.
Offering Maheshwara Puja for Yourself
We can offer Maheshwara Puja for ourselves, so that we can also have the food for the journey to enlightenment at the end of our lives. However, other than for ourselves, and departed souls, this Puja cannot be offered for living beings.
Shraaddha
Shraaddha is nothing but completing with people who are dead, deceased.
In Hinduism, in every step in our life, everything is dependent on completion. That is why we do Maheshwara Puja to complete with all the departed souls. Maheshwara Puja was done in the Vedic civilization where Enlightened Masters and Incarnations complete with the departed souls.
For the completion with the departed souls through Shraaddha, there are a few places in India, well-known for that energy. 1. Bodh Gaya in Gaya where Buddha became Enlightened, there is a huge beautiful Vishnu temple, there Vishnu’s feet are worshipped, the place is well-known for the energy of Pinda Shraaddha, for completion with the departed souls. 2. Badri, in Badrikashram when you do Pinda Shraaddha, Kalabhairava himself receives, having Brahma Kapaala. When you give in Badrikashram, Kalabhairava holding Brahma’s skull, receives the Pinda and offers it to Vishnu. 3. Mansarovar near Kailaasa, in Himalayas
In Badrikashram, Bodh Gaya, or in Mansarovar, if you offer the Shraaddha, it really does the completion in the level of bio-memory. Take enough time to do completion with the ancestors so you and your next generation can experience the joy of completion.
Paramahamsa Nithyananda also declared the Nithyanandeshwara Hindu Temple in Ohio will specially radiate the energy on the banks of the Ganga, Yamuna and Saraswati, in Prayag. Anybody does Shraaddha in our Ohio Temple, it will be received directly by Kalabhairava through his Brahma Kapaala and offered to Vishnu. It will reach your elders, the departed souls. Ohio-Prayag will radiate this special energy of helping you and supporting you in completing with the departed souls. That place has the ambience. You have to do the Shraaddha, and take bath in that river, Sangam, and you will see the completion happens.
However, even then, there is a special significance to Maheshwara Puja. Having the Maheshwara Puja done for any departed soul is a thousand times greater than offering any “shraaddha”, any “pinda”, in any river, any water-body, any lake, any holy land, any holy place.
References
http://gateway.nithyananda.org/product/maheshwara-puja/ http://www.nithyananda.org/photo-gallery/ashram-updates-maheshwara-pooja-rathotsavam#gsc.tab=0 http://www.nithyananda.org/photo-gallery/nithyananda-diary-14th-march-2017-nithyananda-peetham-bengaluru-aadheenam-inner-awaken#gsc.tab=0 http://www.nithyananda.org/video/resolve-your-conflicts-through-completion#gsc.tab=0 http://www.nithyananda.org/video/masters-bouquet#gsc.tab=0 http://www.nithyananda.org/video/q-paramahamsa-nithyananda-24-may-2013#gsc.tab=0